NBA Trade Rumors: 5 destinations for Hassan Whiteside
By Tom West
NBA trade rumors: could the Miami Heat make a trade to resolve Hassan Whiteside’s situation?
The Miami Heat face a great deal of uncertainty and concern when it comes to their star defensive center Hassan Whiteside. He isn’t perfect, but he’s leading the NBA with 3.9 blocks per game and second place Anthony Davis isn’t even close at 2.4. Whiteside has displayed the kind of talent and absurd numbers to earn himself a max contract, which just so happens to cause a major problem for the Heat this summer.
After the 2015-16 season, Whiteside becomes a free agent and Miami won’t be able to keep him around for the bargain price of $981,348 that they’re paying him at the moment. The Heat have several expiring contracts this season, so they’ll have plenty of issues to address with their roster in the summer.
Not to mention, they already have $39,632,785 tied up with contracts for just Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic for 2016-17, and Dwyane Wade (who currently makes $20 million) will need another hefty sum if he’s going to stay around when his contract expires after this season.
Another problem with keeping Whiteside around is that even if the Heat give up the ton of money it will take to keep him around on a max contract, they harm themselves in the running for top free agents like Kevin Durant in the process. Yes, it may not be likely they land him against all the other competition and the Oklahoma City Thunder themselves, but going after Durant is what pretty much everyone wants to try.
The matter of Durant’s future isn’t important here, though. The Heat have been hit by injuries recently which has emphasized their lack of depth, they rank just 22nd in the NBA for offensive efficiency and they rank 26th in made threes per game (6.3). It’s safe to say they need to make some adjustments in free agency if they want to have an offense that can carry them up the Eastern Conference.
Also, the matter of Whiteside’s overall game is a concern. Besides the obvious problems such as his lack of passing (he has a mere 20 assists in 89 games with the Heat) and a limited offensive skill set for now, his defense isn’t perfect either. As well as his effort level and intensity dipping at times, he does have a tendency to move away from his man to bait players into driving so he can soar in for a block from behind. Which, while it may work sometimes, isn’t the most effective way to lock down the paint at all.
The offensive elements aren’t the key with Whiteside as he can still be an overpowering defensive force, and of course his talent and upside is exceptional. Maybe the Heat will wait and see how he fares in the playoffs and try to make a contract work. Maybe that will give them an idea of whether they want to commit max money.
Right now, though, it’s still going to be very difficult to for them to do that. If they think he’s going to leave in free agency, they may need to pursue a trade to cash in on his high value to avoid losing him for nothing.
No, it’s not ideal and he’s obviously a talent the Heat want to keep. But if they think it’s not possible, they may have to face the reality and make a move before the deadline.
Next: Should Houston happen?